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Fumble!
Monday, January 14, 2008
posted by Duf Sundheim at 8:53 PM |
Dateline: Foxboro Massachusetts, January, 2116
Today, Valerie Belichick, wife of former Patriot coach Bill Belichick, the last professional football team to have an undefeated season, announced she was a candidate to be the next Head Coach of the New England Patriots.
"I am running based upon my extensive experience!" Valerie said. Doris Davis, Valerie's spokesperson added, "Valerie is widely regarded as one of the most involved coaches' wives in the history of the NFL. "
Few would argue with that assertion. "Y0u could always tell when Bill had been out too late with the boys," former Pat's Assistant Coach Bobby Benz noted. "Valerie would demand we call certain plays - and dad gumit if we didn't call 'em. They never worked - but we called 'em!"
The highpoint of her involvement occurred after Bill went off on a three day bender. Upon his return, he turned over the entire offense to Valerie. "That was kind of challenging period for us," Bobby noted ruefully. "We had players running into each other, our receivers running routes into the stands, and half the time the center had no one to snap the ball to!"
Valerie promises to call all the offensive plays as Head Coach.
During the second half of Bill's tenure, Bill had Valerie travel the globe on behalf of the Pats. "Bill was very supportive," Bobby Benz noted. "I do not think there ever was a time he was not right there to make sure she got on that plane!" When asked what she did overseas, Valerie explained, "I did coin flips in NFL Europe, served hot dogs at Pop Warner games and once even got to hold the yard marker at a Superbowl!"
"This is all about experience, and I am full of it!" Valerie proclaimed.
A spokesperson for Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots, was not immediately available for comment.
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Dewey Beats Truman - all over again
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
posted by Duf Sundheim at 8:03 PM |
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Obama's Threshold Question
Friday, January 4, 2008
posted by Duf Sundheim at 12:11 PM |
The Democrat presidential primary has many parallels to the 2003 Recall.
At the time of the recall, people were clamoring for change. It is no accident the Schwarzenegger theme song was Twisted Sisters' "We're Not Going to Take It".
Schwarzenegger was an attractive, popular candidate that promised to bring change. Yet, at the beginning, our poll numbers were stuck in the 20s. Why? Because before voters were willing to effect the first recall in our history, they wanted to be sure Schwarzenegger could do the job.
At the debate, Schwarzenegger showed that he could do the job. His poll numbers skyrocketed and we never looked back.
The same may be happening with the Democrats this year. The threshold question is whether Obama can do the job. Clinton understands this and that is why in every speech she says she is the candidate that will be ready "From Day 1".
It appears though that Obama has met the threshold. And if he has, he could be off to the races. Because if voters believe he can do the job, then the Democrat race turns to issues such as vision, authenticity and the "TV Test". And there, they are playing on Obama's home turf.
Clinton has had at least 12 different campaign themes. So much for consistent vision. In terms of authenticity, Carl Bernstein does an excellent job in his Hillary Clinton biography chronicling her journey from an idealistic, authentic youth to the calculating person we see today.
The TV Test? If you are running through the channels and you see someone, do you stop and listen or keep going? If you stop, the person on the screen meets the test. They are stopping for Obama. They are not stopping for Clinton.
Could Clinton still win? Absolutely. There once was a general who landed his troops on enemy territory and promptly burned the ships. Clinton has burned her ships. This is her life. Also, she does have a strong army. Obama makes mistakes and after an impressive win and speech on January 3rd, he showed a surprising and dangerous degree of cockiness.
But if Obama has crossed the threshold that is a big, big deal.
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The Return of the Godfather
Sunday, December 2, 2007
posted by Duf Sundheim at 7:20 PM |
One of my favorite movies is "The Godfather". And one of my favorite scenes in that movie is when Michael Corleone is in the Cathedral for the baptism of his child, as his henchmen are out slicing and dicing the competition. The contrast could not be greater nor more disgusting.
That is what presidential politics will be this Holiday Season - disgusting. The candidates will be out there trying to reflect the joys of the seasons while their communications teams and surrogates are out there ripping the competition to shreds.
Why will this be happening? First, the races are very close with potential upsets in the making. In many Iowa polls, Obama leads Clinton and even more surprising Huckabee leads all Republicans. The closer the races, the more likely the knives will come out.
But the reason it will be spilling over into the Holiday Season for the first time in our history is that the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary have never been this close to Christmas (January 3rd for Iowa; January 8th for New Hampshire). The two weeks before voting are the nastiest, which puts the time for slash and burn politics right in the middle of the Holidays.
So in between news reports of candidates lighting Christmas trees and drinking egg nog with voters, we will be forced to watch commercials and read stories telling us why these candidates are unfit to be our local dog catcher, much less our President.
To bring this tawdry spectacle into the season of Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards Mankind should be and can be avoided. The reason the voting is starting so early this cycle is that other states rightfully want to have their say as to who our next president will be.
Part of the solution is to have the parties agree that primaries must be held closer to the date of the general election, not eleven months in advance. Second, other states should have the chance to kick off the primary season. The voters of Iowa and New Hampshire take their responsibility seriously and do a great job. But so would the people of Minnesota, Washington and Kansas. And there is no reason why, on a rotating basis, these and other states should not be first.
Michael Corleone's hypocrisy during his sons baptism is not the only reason we reject the code of the mafia, but it is emblematic. Similarly, the fact that we are going to witness slash and burn politics during the Holiday Season is emblematic of a presidential system in need of fundamental reform.
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Moon Shot: Senate Directly to the Oval Office
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
posted by Duf Sundheim at 6:33 AM |
Saturday night my wife and I went to see "In the Shadow of the Moon". Well, actually we watched most of it. My alma matter was involved in this football game against USC and I got stuck listening to the game in the car a little longer than expected. Go Stanford!
But I digress.
"In the Shadow of the Moon" is the personal stories of the men who went to the moon. While watching this film, being the political person I am, I found myself thinking it was easier for us to go to the moon than for a sitting Senator to be elected president; and a Mars shot for a person who has not been a Governor or a General to serve two four year terms.
While Google maps indicates it is only 1.6 miles from Capitol Hill to 1600 Pennsylvania; since 1961 (8 years before we went to the moon) some 60 sitting Senators have tried to make the move from sitting U.S. Senator to President and not one has succeeded. And you have to go back to one of the Founding Fathers (James Madison) to find a President who served at least two four year terms who had not been a Governor or a General.
As surprising as these statistics are, it makes sense. The difference between a Senator and a Governor or a General, is the difference between a "true/false" test and essay exam. As a Senator you literally sit on the hill and tell others what to do. But you do not have the experience, or responsibility, of actually making sure the thing works - that is left to others.
As a Governor or a General, you have the experience of working with legislators, but you also have the experience and responsibility to make sure the thing works - and are held accountable if they do not.
And that lack of executive experience eventually catches up to you. In our recent history, several vice presidents have been able to get the vice our of their lives, but have ultimately been rejected by the voters. Bush 41, Ford, Nixon, Johnson and Truman all fall into this category.
In fact, it is Rudy's executive experience which is the key to understanding his appeal. Many people think voters are more ideologically driven than we are. They keep pointing to this or that position Rudy has taken and are shocked his poll numbers have not sunk.
Most Americans, although certainly not all, understand we are not hiring a minister or our own Dr. Phil. We are hiring someone to get the job done.
Clinton clearly has a commanding lead in the Democratic primary, but it is a lead against two one term Senators. So in some ways the Democratic primary has been little more than a Democratic Senatorial Debating Club. And in that world you can get away with saying things like "I voted for it, before I voted against it" and people still nod their heads like you have just said something profound. (Their is a reason Congress' approval ratings are in the teens.)
But as we get closer to actually voting (as opposed to endless meaningless national polls) people are beginning to examine and be disappointed by the lack of clarity as to exactly where Clinton wants to lead us.
Americans want change. That is clear. But do they want change just for the sake of change? And do they want to hand the keys over to someone who has never run anything in their life? It may happen, but if it does, it would be a moon shot.
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Minneapolis: Bridge Collapses, but not Spirit
Sunday, August 5, 2007
posted by Duf Sundheim at 10:27 PM |
We live our lives believing we are bound by our routines. Many times I find myself or others turning down great opportunities because it would disrupt our schedule. Then something happens that smashes those assumptions. It can be as simple as something our child says or does, as personal as an illness, as exhilarating as a personal achievement or as earthshaking as a jet slamming into a building on a bright September morn.
That is what happened to the people of Minneapolis this week. A lot of lives and assumptions were crushed along with that bridge. I was on the 50th floor known as "Window on Minneapolis" when someone pointed out a large puff of dust below. When it cleared we all knew something terrible happened. And it was terrible. "We all have an anchor on our hearts today", Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak told us Friday. However, what was even more amazing was how the people of Minneapolis responded. From the moment the bridge collapsed, people acted in truly heroic ways. Instead of figuring how to get the heck out of there, people we would never even bother to say hello to in a grocery line were leaping over cars to pull kids out of that school bus. Republicans and Democrats were working together to determine what went wrong and get things moving again.
Then on Saturday I was at the Reagan Library to honor those who have recently received Purple Hearts. Many of them were not able to make the ceremony - they were already back in Iraq or Afghanistan with their buddies. I was reminded of the question: "Where do we find such people?" I was so proud to be an American. And then I turned on the TV to see our "leaders" in Washington yelling at each other; go on the web to see how another day has gone by without a budget with everyone claiming it is someone else's fault.
The contrast was stunning - and embarrassing.
America needs a government as good as its people. We need nothing more, we deserve nothing less.
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These Polls Matter? Just Ask President Lieberman
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
posted by Duf Sundheim at 4:22 PM |
The press, and to a lesser extent, the public, seems very interested in two events these days: Paris Hilton and polls for the 2008 Presidential race.
Regarding Paris, what can I possibly add? (It is pretty sad when you Google "Paris Liberated" and you get more hits for Paris Hilton than the liberation of Paris, France from the Nazis in 1944. Although I guiltily admit, my favorite headline of the last few days was: "Liberated Paris under Siege". )
Just how seriously we should take the presidential polls at this point also is open to question. As the Gallup Poll reports, at this time in the 1988 race, Jesse Jackson, JESSE JACKSON, led the Dem field with 18%. Just so you do not think America was living in a parallel universe that year, Jesse repeated that feat with an identical level of support at this time in the 1992 race. In the 2004 race at this time Joe Lieberman was the leader with 20%. Obviously, these leads did not hold up.
Also, it is interesting to note these non-nominee one time leaders are all Democrats. Bush '41, Dole and Bush '43 all developed their leads early and kept them. As Bill Clinton likes to say: "Democrats like to fall in love, Republicans like to fall in line". In fact, in the past 14 presidential elections, the Republican candidate that was ahead in the polls one year before the nomination, received the nomination.
As someone who was involved in the only recall of a sitting Governor in the history of California, I tend to look at history as a guide for tendencies rather than a restraint. And this year, there are signs the American people are in the mood to make some history. With the President's approval rating below freezing (29%), Congress' approval at Al Qaeda like levels (14%) and 75% of Americans thinking we are heading in the wrong direction - you are seeing the same numbers nationally that existed when California recalled its Governor.
In such an environment, things are especially volitale, difficult to predict and history is less of a guide. But the great thing about such an environment, as was the case with the California Recall, it is an excellent opportunity for the voice of the people to be heard over entrenched interest groups and historical tendancies. Which is exactly what our Founding Fathers had in mind over 200 years ago.
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